


bass boom

by radiante



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: M/M, celebrity jeno, donghyuck is hearing but hes fluent in sign lang, donghyuck likes to sing, jaemin is deaf, jisung is losing his hearing so hes learning sign language from jaemin, mark is a famous rapper, model chenle, model renjun, not very dark but like implied i guess, side chensung, side markhyuck, some dark themes?, university donghyuck, university jaemin, university jisung
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-06
Updated: 2018-04-30
Packaged: 2019-04-30 10:20:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14494821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/radiante/pseuds/radiante
Summary: Jaemin is a Deaf student, majoring in Deaf Studies at Seoul National University. His life revolves around his two friends, Donghyuck and Jisung, the only two other students at the university who are fluent in sign language.  While having a conversation in a coffeeshop with his friends, Jaemin encounters a frustrated Jeno, who is tired of hearing him and his friends laugh way too loud.





	bass boom

**Author's Note:**

> sign language is in italics.. i came up w/ this idea while in my asl class so most of the signing described in this fic is based off of american sign language, fyi.  
> for those of yall who don't know: a silent supper is basically where deaf people and hearing people meet up and eat dinner in complete silence and only communicate in asl. it's really helpful for ppl who are learning asl, since they get a chance to practice with ppl who are fluent.

 

 

 _“What did the professor say?”_ Jaemin signed to Donghyuck. Jaemin was offered a sign language interpreter during most of his classes, but this was the one class where his interpreter was unavailable, leaving him to rely on Donghyuck for most of the information. Luckily, this wasn’t a lecture class, so Donghyuck usually did not have much to translate.

 _“He was talking about our test scores and how some people did better than he expected,”_ Donghyuck replied quickly. Jaemin was grateful to have someone like Donghyuck as a friend.

Donghyuck wasn’t Deaf, but he learned sign language when he was young along with Jaemin in order to be able to communicate easily with him. The two boys have known each other since they were in diapers. In fact, Donghyuck knew Jaemin before he had begun to lose his hearing. Most of Jaemin’s friends had abandoned him after he lost his hearing, but Donghyuck was the only constant in his life. He was one of the only people he needed.

After class had ended, Jaemin and Donghyuck began to converse in sign language, ignoring the weird looks from their classmates.

 _“I don’t know what I would do without you in this class,”_ Jaemin began as the two walked out of the building. _“I’d just be writing questions on my paper the whole time.”_

Donghyuck chuckled and patted his friend on the shoulder. _“Don’t worry about it. This is the reason why I learned sign language with you when we were younger. You didn’t chose to be Deaf, man.”_

The other boy nodded in agreement. By now they had reached one of the many lounges in the university. Most students hung out in the lounge to study or to hang out with friends, like Jaemin and Donghyuck.

 _“Do you see Jisung anywhere?”_ Jaemin asked the red haired boy. Donghyuck wore large glasses that framed his eyes perfectly, along with a wrinkled white button up and some ripped jeans. His backpack was fairly new, compared to Jaemin’s. Jaemin had managed to keep the same gray backpack for the past eight years and counting.

“ _He’s right there!”_ Donghyuck signed excitingly, waving his hands to the younger boy who sat in the corner of the room. This earned him a variety of funny looks from his peers.

The two boys joined Jisung at the table. _“Yo, Jisung, how’s your dance classes going?”_

The blonde haired boy sighed, closing his book in order to pay more attention to his friends. Jisung was a dance major, which was unique considering he was beginning to lose his hearing at a rapid pace. Similar to Jaemin, Jisung has been hearing his entire life up until he entered university, when his hearing began to weaken as time went on. In a few months or years, he’ll be completely Deaf.

Jaemin and Donghyuck have taken it to teach the younger boy sign language, so his vibrant personality won’t be lost. Jisung has been improving greatly, and has even removed his hearing aid to embrace his hearing loss and immerse himself even more in the new language.

 _“It’s hard,”_ He admitted, letting out a deep breath: a sign of exhaustion. _“I have to remind the other kids to turn the music all the way up so I can feel the bass, but it hurts their ears a lot since it’s so loud.”_

Jaemin knew exactly what he was talking about. _“Jisung, you’re one of the best dancers I know. Don’t let this bring you down- embrace your Deafness. You’re the only Deaf kid in the whole school who is majoring in dance.”_

The boy blushed at Jaemin’s boasting. Donghyuck smiled.

Sometimes all they needed were some words of encouragement. _“I know, I know. I wouldn’t give up dancing for the world!”_

All three boys smiled. They had learned to stay in their own little world, away from those who would judge and stare at them for using sign language. Some were eager to learn signs- especially Jaemin’s hearing friends. Jaemin was always eager to teach others his language, in hopes that it’ll broaden their perspective and encourage communication between Deaf people and hearing people.

This was the reason why he had decided to double major in Political Science and Deaf Studies. He was passionate about his people, and he wanted to see more Deaf representation, not only in the media but in the government and in his everyday life. A little representation goes a long way. Seeing people like him being able to do all the same things hearing people do gives him hope; it shows that the only thing Deaf people can’t do is hear.

 _“Are you planning on entering that dance competition they’ve been announcing recently?”_ Donghyuck asked Jisung. By now, the three boys had taken camp of the big table. Donghyuck had his feet perched up on the table, and a lollipop hanging out of his mouth. Jaemin was curled up with his feet on his chair, and his chin on his knees.

 _“I think I will,”_ Jisung said, rummaging through his backpack for the entry papers. _“I mean- what’s the worse that could happen? If anything, I’ll have to ask for accommodations because I can barely even hear at this point.”_

Donghyuck sat up in concern. _“I thought the doctor said you would still have some hearing left for a few months?”_

 _“Yeah, what’s up with that? You can’t hear anymore?”_ Jaemin furrowed his eyebrows, and ruffled his hair. It was dyed a chestnut brown that complimented his tan skin tone. Of course, he was nowhere near as tan as Donghyuck who quite literally glowed on the sunny days, but he did have a slight tan that he was proud of.

Jisung nodded. _“I can hear people’s conversations if they’re screaming their lungs out, but most of the time it’s all just a hum.. I’d rather not try and listen in anyways.”_

 _“Well, welcome to the club buddy!”_ Jaemin joked, standing up from his chair to sit next to Jisung and wrap his arm around his shoulder. _“The only two fully Deaf students at SNU! Donghyuck, quick, take a picture so you can get our autographs!”_

Donghyuck rolled his eyes. “You’re annoying.”

_“Shut up! I might be Deaf, but I still know you just called me annoying! I can read lips, y’know!”_

Donghyuck smiled. Jaemin had grown a lot since he was child, both physically and mentally. Becoming Deaf made him an outcast and separated him from all his old friends. Jaemin tried everything to be able to communicate with them- from learning to read lips to forcing himself to speak. This led him to spiral down to a dark place- where he would beat himself up for things that were completely out of his control. Where he would have to see a therapist to talk about his feelings and where he would isolate himself from even Donghyuck.

Seeing him being able to joke around about something that would remind him of his dark past warms Donghyuck. He's proud of Jaemin's growth and how far he's come.

 _"Are any of you guys interested in a silent supper or brunch at the coffeeshop outside of campus?"_  Jaemin asked the two, taking out his agenda. It was covered in random stickers and sharpie marks. On the inside, he had written "JAEMIN" in big bold letters, in case he lost it somewhere. _"Our last silent supper was a big hit, and a lot of hearing people came. I wanna organize another one."_

Jisung nodded. _"If you schedule it on a Monday, I'll be able to go. I've missed the past two and I really wanna see who's been showing up."_

_"I have to check in with the coffeeshop to see if they're okay with an organized event like that.. but I'll try!"_

Jaemin turned to Donghyuck. _"Do you wanna go check right now?"_  The other boy nodded.

 _"I have dance practice in like ten minutes, so let me know how it goes!"_ Jisung said, checking the time on his phone before slinging his backpack on and running out of the lounge. The dance studios were a long walk from the area they were currently in, so he'd have to sprint if he wanted a chance to make it on time.

Jaemin and Donghyuck waved at his disappearing figure. _"Jisung never changes."_ Donghyuck chuckled.

_  
_

_  
_

 

It was a sunny day outside. It was extremely humid, a sign that it had rained the previous night. The sky was a bright blue with no clouds in sight.  Jaemin felt the sun shining in his eyes as they walked towards Donghyuck’s car.

He was fine with being Deaf, but he couldn’t ever imagine losing his eyesight. The world has so many beautiful sights, it would hurt him to miss them all.

Donghyuck drove a black Toyota Corolla. It was an ancient car from 1999 with no aux cord and multiple soda stains in the backseat, most likely from Jisung. Every once in a while he’d have to take it to a mechanic shop for a tune up. Donghyuck’s father always insisted on fixing the car himself ( _“Mechanics only want your money! We can fix this ourselves!” He stated, one evening when Jaemin had come over to eat dinner with the family)_ but Donghyuck would take it to a shop regardless, because his father knew absolutely nothing about cars, and he wanted this one to last him for a lifetime.

Jaemin stepped into the passenger seat, throwing his backpack in the back next to Donghyuck’s, before speaking again.

 _“Can we turn the music real high up today?”_ Jaemin asked, looking at his friend. _“I’m in the mood to jam out.”_

Donghyuck laughed. “Of course!”

He reached out to turn on the radio, and stuck in a CD he had burned from his old laptop. Because he had no aux cord, he had to put together CDs with his favorite songs to play while he drove.

Putting the volume to the max, Donghyuck pulled out of the parking lot and onto the main road towards the coffeeshop. It was a twenty minute drive.

Jaemin could feel the vibrations produced by the music shake his body and the car. Although he couldn’t listen to the music, he could feel the energy of it through the vibrations.

This was how Jisung was able to dance despite him being deaf. They feel the buzzing in their core, and the vibrations running throughout their entire bodies. A common misconception is that Deaf people can’t enjoy music- they can. Both Deaf and hearing people can feel the vibrations of the music when the volume is high enough. They all feel it shaking their body, feeding them the same energy and excitement. This is how they enjoy music.

 

Donghyuck pulled up to the shop, parking relatively close to the entrance. It was a Tuesday, and it wasn’t 3pm yet, so the coffee shop wasn’t as crowded as it usually is on weekdays.

The two walked in, Donghyuck leading, and ordered their drinks.

 _“I’ll just get a regular cappuccino,”_ Jaemin signed, looking around for an empty seat, preferably in a corner so he could people watch. Donghyuck gave him a sign to sit while he got the drinks. Jaemin thanked him and made his way to the seat he was eyeing, pulling out his phone in the process.

He had a few texts, four of them from Jisung who was raving about a famous musician being in town, apparently. Jaemin sent him a quick “LOL” before locking his phone and receiving his drink from Donghyuck.

 _“The manager said he’ll meet us in about ten minutes,”_ Donghyuck noted. He nodded.

 _“According to Jisung, some famous musician is in town? He said he’s around this area,”_ Jaemin looked around, eyeing the people sitting at the other tables.

Donghyuck hummed in acknowledgement. _“I heard from some people in my class this morning. His name is Jeno Lee. He’s on vacation apparently.”_

Jaemin took a sip of his drink, noting at how hot it was. He looked out the window to see all different kinds of people from different backgrounds heading towards where they needed to be.

 _“What are the chances of him walking into this coffee shop right here, right now?”_ Jaemin mused, shaking his head at the thought. Jisung was a big Lee Jeno fan, and had a crush on Chenle, one of Jeno’s model friends. Jaemin was familiar with how they looked, but didn’t pay much more attention than that.

His friend shook his head in denial. _“There’s no way. You’re crazy for even thinking that. What would Lee Jeno be doing in this little coffee shop anyways?”_

 _"You're right.."_ Jaemin laughed loudly, holding his hand on his chest. The other customers scattered around the shop glanced back at him briefly, before turning back to their own business.  _"I think Jisung would freak if we met him and he wasn't there."_

Donghyuck nodded, sipping his iced tea. The manager of the small shop made his way to speak with the two, removing his apron and leaving it on the front counter with the cashier.

“I heard you two wanted to talk to me?” The man asked, laying his two hands on the wooden table. The two boys were familiar with the man- after all, they would hang out at the coffee shop multiple times a week. The old man even knew their usual orders by heart.

“We- well Jaemin, wanted to ask if it was alright with you to host a sort of silent supper here next week?” Donghyuck asked. Jaemin smiled at the manager, his pearly white teeth in display. The manager knew Jaemin was deaf- in fact, he had even learned a few signs for when Jaemin came in to order a drink alone.

The man laughed. “Well of course! You don’t even need to ask, everyone is welcome here!”

Jaemin took that as a yes, and let out a little chuckle, glancing back down to his drink. He was relieved. 

“That’s all we really wanted to ask- there might be a lot of people coming in so we just wanted to run it by you..” Donghyuck trailed off. The man ruffled both the boys’ hair before standing up.

“That’s fine- the more the better!” He laughed. “Since you say there might be a lot of people coming in, we’ll probably have to make more desserts.. so if you’ll excuse me..”

The two boys waved at him as he tied his apron back on and headed to the kitchen.

 _“That went better than I expected..”_ Jaemin admitted, watching the manager pull out milk and sugar from the cabinet. He looked out the window to his right, only to see a handful of girls with large cameras run across the street and into a boutique. He nudged Donghyuck, grabbing his attention. 

_“There’s some famous person in that store,”_ He pointed. Jisung would cry if Jaemin told him the news. He would probably be in disbelief if that person turned out to be one of his favorite musicians. 

The other boy shook his head, getting up to throw his drink in the trash. Across the street, a figure dashed out of the store, the girls chasing him, their cameras’ flash going off at record speed. The man wore all black, along with a mask and a baseball cap. The only feature of his that stood out was his blonde hair that peaked out from underneath his hat.

_“C’mon we have a lecture in like thirty minutes, and I know you hate being late.”_

Jaemin followed his friend out, saying a quick goodbye to the manager. Seeing celebrities in Seoul was a common occurrence. The man in the boutique was the last of his worries.

 

 

 


End file.
